The True Crime Weblog Message Board

[font=Comic Sans MS]Hello Everyone,

Whilst some groups go on forever, some groups only have a certain shelf life and ours here is one of the latter. Unfortunately, we have now come to the end of ours. This group was always an emergency stop-gap to give us a home after finding ourselves homeless when Haloscan was no longer viable, a place which in any case, from which we had to make multiple moves to new Steve Huff Haloscan threads. This place here on Freeforums never had a permanent feel to it, since it was made in a hurry and was still imposing on our previous landlord. The lack of full access to its features meant there were limits to how far we could go in tailoring it to fit our exact needs, as is the way when somewhere isn't your place. Moreover, recent events that threatened the imminent closing of our group served to show just how vulnerable we are and put us in a situation where in terms of patience, we are out of credit with our group's owner, an owner who has little more then a passing interest in the MK case anyway and really only tolerated us for so long in order to do us a favour. This was a one way street since he gained nothing from it other then the occassional inconvenience at a time when he's very busy and has health concerns amongst other things. We have imposed on him for long enough. Therefore, all things considered, Skep and I consider our position here to now be untennable for it will take only one more incident, however small, to push us over the edge. Therefore, we have decided it is best to jump before we are pushed. That way, our culture becomes one of moving from plan to considered plan, rather then from emergency to emergency.

Therefore, we have decided to move our community to the emergency group I created, Perugia Murder File, the moving process effective as of now. I am currently in the writing process of the paperwork for the new forum (site rules framework, various forum introduction/instruction stickies etc,) which during the next two days will be completed, sent to Skep to proof and posted up there. Once that is done, P.M.F will become live and officially be our new home. Although it is sad to be leaving somewhere we have become used to and many of us have come to love, our new home will be 'permanent', meaning we shall no longer have to make any future moves and we have full carte blanche to set it up to best suit our needs. Morever, it has more features and due to its scale in size and flexibility is more then capable of meeting our needs 'long-term', no matter how long that is. Your Admins will be the same as here, Skep and myself.

Once we have moved, we shall ask Steve if he might kindly lock this group rather then delete it, so that all that is here may be viewed for posterity. So, here is what shall happen, for the time being members can still post in the main thread here, although please refrain from either creating new threads or adding to others (since I still intend on copying data over to the new group as a back-up). Please ensure you have copied any data you require for your personal records, including that contained in your PM boxes as after the move you will no longer be able to access those. If you have not done so already, please register for membership at Perugia Murder File as soon as possible, 16 have done so already, and add it to your favourites/bookmarks. Please do so with a screen name I will recognise. You will find the group here:

http://perugiamurderfile.freeforums.org/index.php

It is the same software as here, so there shouldn't be any problems in either signing up or taking part in community discussions/activities. Please also be sure to monitor the new group for announcements. Please do not post on the new board until I make the formal announcement there to open the group, at least not anywhere aside from in 'The Range'. To reconfirm, the move is NOW, although the main thread here will remain open for one - two days grace period, after which it shall be locked and immediately the new main discussion thread on P.M.F will be live on doing so, ensuring a smooth transition. Please contact a Moderator if you have any problems or questions.

On behalf of us all, I would very much like to thank Steve Huff for putting up with us all for so long and for being there when most needed. I also wish to thank all those who have participated in our community and hope to see you all again. In the meantime, so long, be well and keep the faith.

Michael[/font]

The new board welcomes anyone here who wants to continue posting about this case. Naturally, the many people who are long-time lurkers (thanks to all of you who PM'd me last week to support the endeavor here) are encouraged to register for the new board and continue to follow our discussion of this case. We hope that the new board will not degenerate into OT sniping and griping. You deserve better.

As Michael said, he is preparing the documentation. The same rules of civility will apply, but they will be more stringently enforced. There will be zero tolerance for those who break any of the few rules which are necessary to keep a community of people from tearing one another apart.

This move is not meant to be traumatic or punitive. As Michael has explained, this board was only really intended as a stop-gap measure, and Steve Huff was going above and beyond his duty to us when he agreed to own it. He is not following this case, and there is really no reason he should continue to be exposed to the risks associated with owning a message board.

I would like to personally thank him for being a man of his word. When haloscan was being taken down and Steve saw the damage, he promised to write about the perpetrators if they repeated their offenses. They did, and he did, in his memorable TC weblog post exposing the cowardly tactics employed to intimidate and harass. I would also like to thank him for stepping in when it was necessary to do so and for stating the case so clearly and forcefully. Between that moment and the posting of the apology, Michael worked around the clock to get his new board ready.

For that reason alone, it is time to move rather than wait for the next crisis and be forced to do so. Steve has been a gracious host for too long and we have worn out our welcome.

For those whose interest in true crime extends beyond this case or could, I urge you to check out Steve's new blog if you haven't done so already (truecrimereport.com). The world is a gruesome place, especially if you get your news from Steve! Yet somehow, his wit and style make all the difference.

One last comment: Fast Pete sent me a message last night to say he was inviting people to visit and collaborate on his blog devoted to justice for Meredith Kercher (TJMK.org). I hope everyone takes the time to see what he's doing over there. And Damian has created a blog for his translations (address under main thread, courtesy of Brian).

Skeptical Bystander (co-administrator and co-moderator)

I thought I'd mention this over here so that Michael and other people would be aware.

When I first registered at the new message board Michael has prepared, my registration didn't take immediate effect. It wouldn't let me log in. Now the same thing has happened to Rhonda.

I just want to say that when I returned sometime later, I was able to log in straight away. My registration had worked but obviously took some time to take effect.

Michael,

I tried to register and it said my user name has already been taken, so I must of messed up somewhere or there is another "indie" over there. ~ the real indie ♥

indie wrote:Michael,

I tried to register and it said my user name has already been taken, so I must of messed up somewhere or there is another "indie" over there. ~ the real indie ♥

[font=Comic Sans MS]Hi Indie

You are in the memberlist of the group.

Just try signing in with the ID and Password you were trying to register with (not registering). My feeling is you should be signed right in, but if there's a problem let me know.

Michael[/font]

Michael wrote:

indie wrote:Michael,

I tried to register and it said my user name has already been taken, so I must of messed up somewhere or there is another "indie" over there. ~ the real indie ♥

[font=Comic Sans MS]Hi Indie

You are in the memberlist of the group.

Just try signing in with the ID and Password you were trying to register with (not registering). My feeling is you should be signed right in, but if there's a problem let me know.

Michael[/font]

Thanks Michael I shall give it a try.

I have been feeling a bit disappointed lately in some of the ways members of this board were treating each other. Thanks for always being so kind and answering my questions.

Indie wrote:

I have been feeling a bit disappointed lately in some of the ways members of this board were treating each other. Thanks for always being so kind and answering my questions.

I hope that, on the new board, we will maintain a collective intolerance for mean and self-destructive remarks and behavior. It certainly does nothing to advance the cause of justice for Meredith.

Where did you get that cute little heart icon?